October 29, World Stroke Day: monitor your heartbeat

Fraternidad-Muprespa's commitment to disease prevention and healthy living led the entity to sign a collaboration agreement five years ago with the Stroke Brake Foundation, with the aim of promoting awareness-raising activities. Like every October 29, World Stroke Day, the event is unavoidable because the objective of combating this stroke is essential, as well as promoting awareness of its symptoms by the largest possible part of the population.

According to data from the Foundation, stroke is the first cause of mortality for women in Spain and the second for men. It is also the first cause of dependency in adults and the second cause of dementia after Alzheimer's.

The unanimous consensus on the importance of not wasting a minute in its approach is derived from the fact that every second after a stroke causes the death of thousands of neurons, so the impact may be greater the later it takes to react.

The signs, not because they are known, should not be ignored, and he spoke about them in detail Julio Agredano, founder and president of the Stroke Brake Foundation, in the Fratertalks space: a sudden loss of strength, feeling weakness in the face or limbs, showing difficulty in walking, speaking or to continue a conversation, losing total or partial vision or suddenly feeling an acute headache are reasons to put ourselves in the hands of a medical service urgently.

Every 6 minutes there is a stroke in Spain. One in four people over 25 years of age will suffer one in their lifetime. It is fatal in 30% of cases and in 40% of cases it causes serious disability  but the good news is that up to 90% of them can be prevented. As? eliminating the consumption of tobacco, alcohol and drugs, practicing regular physical exercise, with a balanced diet and with regular monitoring in patients with diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia or other vascular pathologies.

In addition, in its desire to disseminate various issues related to this pathology, Freno al Ictus has recently launched the "Tómate el PULSO" campaign whose objective is to increase awareness about another possible trigger: arrhythmias, particularly the most common of them, atrial fibrillation.

If the heart must ensure adequate blood flow to the brain, its correct functioning is key to good cerebrovascular health, and irregular heartbeats can cause blood clots that interrupt this flow, increasing the risk.

Approximately one in four people over the age of 40 will develop atrial fibrillation at some point in their lives. The Spanish Society of Cardiology estimates that around one million people suffer from it.  Hence the importance of knowing how to take your pulse correctly, to detect this possible arrhythmia, especially for those between 45 and 67 years old.

Warning signs can range from irregular heartbeat to shortness of breath, weakness, dizziness or fainting. If any of these symptoms are experienced, it is essential to seek medical attention for proper diagnosis and prompt treatment to avoid complications.